0-14, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The holey tower

RUR Architecture to break ground in Dubai

New York based RUR Architects has unveiled their design for this 22-storey tall commercial tower in Dubai. Perched on a two-storey podium the 0-14 tower is to break ground the first week of December 2006 in the heart of Business Bay in Dubai. The building comprises 300,000 square feet and the design for O-14 is for a tower sheathed in a forty centimeter-thick concrete shell perforated by over 1,000 openings that create a lace-like effect on the building’s façade.
The shell is not only the structure of the building, it acts as a sunscreen open to light, air, and views. A space nearly one meter deep between the shell and the main enclosure creates a so-called “chimney effect,” a phenomenon whereby hot air has room to rise and effectively cools the surface of the glass windows behind the perforated shell. This passive solar technique essentially contributes to a natural component to the cooling system for O-14, thus reducing energy consumption and costs, just one of many innovative aspects of the building’s design.